MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR

Gone are the days when a romp around the Waynedale Splash Pad would mean having to navigate around the mud puddles that formed around the edges. Thanks to the Waynedale Splash Pad Improvement project installed by the City Parks and Recreation Department, the mud puddles have been eliminated and the splash pad has been expanded!

The improvement project was launched at the splash pad in Waynedale Park on July 5th and continued through July 9th. We, at the City, were committed to make improvements at the splash pad, but we made sure not to close the facility over the July 4th holiday weekend.

The nearly $15,000 improvement included expansion of the splash pad – which now has more than a dozen spray features – and installation of three new benches, so that parents now have a place to sit and watch, while their children are playing. I can imagine the splash pad has been very well-utilized recently, in the wake of the extended heat wave that settled in Fort Wayne in mid-July!
The Waynedale Splash Pad is uniquely shaped, which makes it difficult to measure, but parks officials estimate that it is about 3,700 square feet in area and 69 feet across at the widest points. It is now comparable in size to splash pads at McCormick Park and Shoaff Park.

After the splash pad was installed in 2007, an unusually high volume of foot traffic in the area prevented the turf around the splash pad from building up on its own. So, parks officials came up with a design to improve the drainage process at the popular park attraction; the new design included enlarging the pad itself to contain the spray water.

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Work on the project was done by T-E Incorporated, a locally-owned company, and was completed within one work week, reopening on July 10th. The ground around the improvement area has been seeded and it will take a few months for grass to get fully established, however, the splash pad water is contained and the muddy puddles are gone.

While we’re on the subject of water, it was good to see the Avalon Swim Team at the 50th annual City Swim Meet. The Avalon Swim Club has a rich tradition and is the source of pride throughout Fort Wayne, and certainly in Waynedale. Congratulations to the team on its third place showing!